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Putting life into a blank canvas: Shiwani Vishwakarma

By
Lucky Singh/Tulika Singhroy
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0

Pithoragarh, When we set our heart, mind and soul to something,  we leave nothing to chance. Today, we take you on a journey through a painters canvas. An exceptionally talented, young artist from Pithoragarh, Shiwani Vishwakarma.

As a child Shiwani loved to draw and as time passed, the young girl developed an unbreakable-bond with the world of art and colour. Her greatest inspiration, she tells us,  “was my father, a gifted artist himself.  It’s probably why I took up Art as a full-time profession in the first place. Its in my blood.” She adds, “My father has been and will always be my first Guru, trainer and source of inspiration. An Arts Graduate from  SSJ college in Almora, at present Shiwani is pursuing her Masters, from Vanasthali Vidyapeet, Rajasthan, honing her artistic skills.

Intrigued by portraits and human faces Shiwani finds herself drawn towards Uttarakhand’s landscapes, art and culture. A glimpse of Devbhoomi is what you will find in all her work.  “As an artist I try to portray all the different aspects of Devbhoomi. It is my constant source of inspiration and tomorrow,  no matter where I go, I will carry Uttarakhand within me.”

Interestingly the young artist also experiments with shades of coffee and ink. “Even though my father isn’t with us anymore, there is a glimpse of his style of painting in all my works.  In the future, I would definitely like to learn more about painting techniques and make a mark for myself in this field. “

When we sign off, Shiwani is all set to put fresh paint to her white canvas mounted on an easel. Lost to the world of colours set in front of her on a palette, armed with a paint brush, she looks out of the window, as if,  seeking inspiration, from the hills, she calls home.

Mussoorie: Upcoming polls prolong festivities in the hill-station

By
Tania Saili
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0

Mussoorie, Though the Festival of Lights is behind us, yet more fireworks are in store for our otherwise sleepy hill-town. Its residents are gearing up celebrate Democracy bringing out the interesting quotient between the candidate and his/her voter.

With less than two weeks for the hill-state to go to polls, fifty seven ward members excluding three mayor candidates are fighting it out in Mussoorie in what can be termed as the Battle of the Ballot.

Over twenty thousand voters of the municipal limitations of Queen of Hills will decide the fate of candidates who vouch to do some good to the hill-station which has surpassed its carrying capacity.

Out of the total voting population, nine thousand, seven hundred and forty nine women voters will play a major role in making or breaking a candidate with any political aspiration along with twelve thousand two hundred and seventy four men who vote this season.

While talking about women empowerment is the trend, unfortunately none of the women candidates felt empowered enough to contest for the coveted ‘Mayor of Mussoorie’ seat. But on the other hand, out  of the thirteen wards there are only four wards where women candidates aren’t giving their male counter-parts a fight. Out of the thirteen wards,  three seats are reserved for Women under General Category, two seats for Women under the Schedule Caste category and one for OBC Women candidates.

Out of fifty seven candidates,  a total of twenty three women candidates, some first-timers and some experienced ward members are putting up a good fight, to settle for second best, ‘ward-member’ tag in the town’s hierarchy.

With polling on the 18th of November, candidates men, women and their droves of supporters are braving the cold from break of dawn to burning the mid-night oil, making their way, door to door to ensure that not one home and its inhabitants are overlooked to lure that ‘one’ precious vote.

Exclusive: Uttarakhand Anthem a gift on Statehood Day

By
Tania Saili
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0

Dehradun, On the occasion of Statehood Day as Uttarakhand turns eighteen, Kavindra Singh popularly known as RJ Kaavya, the baritone voice behind Superhits 93.5 Red Fm Bajaate Raho has come out with his latest stint, a two-minute anthem entitled ‘Uttarakhand Anthem,’ a befitting ode to his home state.

Released today on YouTube, Singer Akanksha has lent her soulful voice to the hindi anthem along with lyrics written by ulti-talented Kaavya and Anand Kanu. Shot on location by Rishabh Gupta & Gang Of Ghumakkad the dedicated team came together and within a short span of time came out with this audio-visual delight, ‘Uttarakhand Anthem.’

The video gently takes the viewer to one of the remotest and most beautiful landscapes of the hill-state starting from Kedarnath to Auli to parts of Nainital and Bageshwar and everything in between. Speaking about Migration and Ghost Villages, the two pertinent issues that still haunt the eighteen year old State, Kaavya makes an appeal to the youth to return to their home in the hills, even if it were for a few days, to revive and renew their connection with their roots.

Kaavya makes no qualms about his deep rooted passion for the State and is a leading example of reverse migration as he chose to return to his home-state when 93.5 Red FM came calling, and makes it a point to visit his home in the hills of Bageshwar whenever work permits.

Kaavya adds, “the basic thought behind the anthem was to take a resolution to give something back to our home-state and address issues such as employment, migration and rehabilitation of ghost villages so that the idea behind the creation of a separate hill-state is met to some extent and we dont just celebrate Statehood Day for the sake of it.“

Click the link to enjoy the anthem here:

Dehradun air quality worse on Diwali night

By
Tania Saili
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0

Dehradun, Late last night when most of us had wrapped up Diwali celebrations, Gati team was out on the roads of Dehradun measuring the air quality of the city, under the what they called “Diwali Air Pollution Mapping Exercise,” which was carried out three days in a row.

The entire exercise threw up horrifying results such as the pollution levels were fifteen to twenty times the national standards for PM 2.5 and PM 10. The pollution levels on Diwali i.e 7th November were almost upto ten times higher than what was measured on the 5th and 6th of November.

While the skyline was covered with dust and haze, a few stray fires were also reported at garbage dumps, most likely due to stray crackers. Pollution levels were much higher and dangerous in dense residential areas like Patel Nagar, Gandhi Gram, Jhanda Chowk, Clock Tower and Connaught Place.

What was evident, was the fact that there seemed no impact of any awareness or appeal made by media or social groups, to curtail the burning of crackers this Diwali season. Recent media coverage about air pollution or the timely intervention of the Supreme Court hardly made any impact on the ground which led to overnight pollution levels making air quality unfit, for men and animals, alike.

Such alarming results make us wonder, what is the next step forward? We ask Anoop Nautiyal, Founder, Gati Foundation, Dehradun, “there is a no single, simple answer, to this. It has to be a people oriented campaign, the responsibility rests with the people of the city, state and the country at large who need to take this forward. We need a ‘Swaccha Vaayu’ campaign along with the ‘Swaccha Bharat’ campaign. The next step forward would be stricter implementation of law and policy if any along with heightened citizen awareness for the issue.”

PM Narendra Modi to visit Kedarnath tomorrow

By
Tania Saili
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0
Pic Courtesy: Krishna Kuriyal

For the third time in eighteen months, Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi will be visiting Kedarnath, this time on the auspicious occasion of Deepawali the Festival of Lights.

Chief Minister  Trivendra Singh Rawat reviewed the preparations for the Prime Minister’s visit at CM residence and directed concerned officials to make foolproof arrangements.

With snowfall in the area, it has been an uphill task for those who have been continuously removing snow from the path leading from the VIP helipad to the shrine.

Pic Courtesy: Krishna Kuriyal

It is believed that Prime Minister Modi will reach Kedarnath at 9:45 a.m. tomorrow morning.  Sources inform us that Prime Minister will be spending close to two hours in Kedarpuri, with a back-to-back schedule beginning with performing puja and paying obeisance to Lord Shiva in the temple. Post this Prime Minister will personally examine the ongoing reconstruction work being carried out in Kedarnath since he last visited the temple. A video presentation related to construction work will also be projected in the guesthouse located within the temple premises.

Recent snowfall and flowers brought in specially to decorate the age old shrine has added more charm to the landscape of Kedarpuri, a town, famous for the 8th century Shiva temple, leaving its most skeptical of pilgrim, spell-bound.

Festive season just got more interesting with Election shopping

By
Tania Saili
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0

Dehradun, A kilometer stretch along the Inaamullah, one cannot help but notice close to half a dozen shops selling Election commodities such as flags, banners; batches; scarfs; fliers; flexi-boards and plenty more, you name it, they have it!

Over six thousand candidates will be contesting the upcoming civic body elections in Uttarakhand, and these handful shops are equipped with cloth, bamboo and nothing in plastic, to cater to candidates and their supporters by adding colour to the civic polls.

Thanks to these shops, which mushroom every election season, each nook and corner in far off towns and villages are painted in saffron, green, blues and yellows and whatever else is demanded from them. They rarely say, No!

Talking to Newspost, Balam from Raju Bhai’s store, a third generation shop-owner from Muzzafarnagar who sets up shop in Haridwar and Dehradun each election season, updates us, “for the past forty years and counting we have been setting up shop wherever there have been elections, from MP elections to those of the Gram Panchayat or local civic bodies, we cater to one and all.”

With no time to spare for us, we struggle on to the next shop where we find a Honey Bhai. A dejected Honey who uses his shop as a make shift store for Diwali, Eid tells us, “There is no profit in this work. I experimented with selling election items for the first time and its all been down-hill. I could have made more profit selling crackers this Diwali,” he walks away as a lone customer walks in, and we dont have the heart to keep him away from his two pennies.

Once canvasing comes to an end, people like Raju Bhaiya shut-shop and move to greener pastures (other election bound States) in the country, to add colour to what we call the largest celebration of Democracy.

Exclusive: Christmas celebrations begin early in Mussoorie

By
Tania Saili
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0

While the rest of India gears up to celebrate Diwali, the Festival of Lights in a few days from now. In Mussoorie, the grand Savoy Hotel is bringing in the spirit of Christmas,  weeks early with the customary cake mixing ceremony being held in its Grand Ballroom, today.

Keeping its hundred and seventeen year tradition alive the hotel staff; guests along with Author Bill Aitken, Author Ganesh Saili, Actor Pooja Bhatt, Director Mahesh Bhatt, SP Chamoli and other dignitaries from town got together for the customary cake mixing followed by hi-tea.

Christmas is no fun without the traditional cake and making this is no easy task, as those present at the event, found out. Keeping alive the age-old custom of the English, preparations for the delectable Christmas cake begin months in advance, and that is what this head start to the Cake Mixing event at the Savoy was all about.

During the half an hour ceremony, Sabyasachi Dasmahapatra, Executive Chef enthusiastically guided the guests of all ages, to mix an array of twenty five kilograms of ingredients including dry fruits, black currant, apricot, almonds, figs, resins, dates, tutti-frutti soaked in eight and a half litre of spirit such as orange juice, cranberry juice, red wine, dark rum and brandy. The batter will be soaked until the 17th of December when it is set to and be baked, closer to Xmas Day.

For those who haven’t got their hands (wearing gloves, of course) into the traditional cake mixing pot, it is time to gear yourself up to enjoy the fruits of labour and take part in the winter festivities during the holiday season, this December.

Valley of Flowers: A Trekker’s Paradise

By
Tania Saili
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0
Pic Courtesy: Rajat Rajpal

Chamoli: This season, within five months of the Valley of Flowers being opened the valley contributed close to twenty-five lakh rupees to the State exchequer from 14,965 visitors compared to last year’s 13,754 sightseers who made their way to Uttarakhand’s pristine Alpine meadow.

At an altitude of 11,500 ft in Chamoli District, the six kilometer long and two kilometer wide ‘U’ shaped valley is laced with waterfalls and rolling hills carpeted with over six hundred varieties of floral species, making it a visual treat to those who come visiting. It is also home to the elusive Snow Leopard, Black Bear, Monal Pheasant and Musk Deer that further makes it a must-visit for those who want to catch a glimpse of the rich flora and fauna of the place.

Pic Courtesy: Rajat Rajpal

Post Kedarnath deluge in 2013, the Uttarakhand State Government had banned the entry of tourists to this alpine meadow for three long years, giving the meadow enough time to rejuvenate and replenish itself. In the year 2016, in an attempt to revive tourism in the hill-state, the meadow was re-opened to trekkers, naturalists and tourists from home and abroad.

For  a long time, the Valley of Flowers has been the bedrock for research scholars from all over the globe given its rich flora and fauna. For few, the opening of the valley was a welcome move but many worried about how the influx of tourists would upset the equilibrium of what is considered the most beautiful place on earth.

For young trekking enthusiast like Rajat Rajpal who was mesmerised by the first glimpse of the Valley of Flowers found it, “scenic and pristine but I hope that those who come visiting are conscious trekkers who don’t leave behind heaps of plastic and garbage which will adversely affect the ecological balance of the place.”

The weather for Uttarakhand begins to turn

By
Tania Saili
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0

Uttarakhand, After weeks of basking in the toasty winter sun, under a clear, bright blue sky, hill-folks of the State need to pull out their woollens before the coming weekend. With Western Disturbance coming knocking at the door, Uttarakhand will witness rain and snowfall activity around the 3rd and 4th of November.

Talking to Newspost, Director Meteorological Department Vikram Singh said, “it is already cloudy from today as western disturbance is approaching the State. We will have rainfall on the 3rd of November and scattered rainfall across the State on the 4th of November. There will be snowfall in the higher reaches of 3500 meters and above.”

Hill districts such as Uttarkashi and Chamoli will have rainfall activity from tonight itself, while the rest of the State will remain overcast, bringing down the maximum and minimum temperatures across the hill-state.

The only silver lining is that the rainfall activity will subside post the 4th of November, in time for Deepawali celebrations.

Atal Ridge: A gift from Uttarakhand Mountaineers

By
Tania Saili
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0

On the 4th of October, the Chief Minister of the State, Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat flagged off an expedition of six – mountaineers including two women to summit peaks in Uttarakashi’s Gangotri range.

The team set out on ‘Mission Atal’ on the 7th of October from Gangotri to summit four virgin peaks at a height 6000 to 6600 mtrs.

Principal NIM Col Amit Bisht along with Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board member Avdesh Bhatt, Jyotsana Rawat and Anamika Bisht under the guidance of Instructor Rakesh Rana from National Institute of Mountaineering, mountaineer Vishnu Semwal and high altitude porters Prem and Gailbu, were part of this daring team.

Col Amit Bisht tells us, “before going on the expedition we enquired from IMS who confirmed that these four peaks were unnamed and un-scaled, so it became a challenge for us to undertake this feat.”

Talking to us, post summiting the peaks, the youngest member of the team Jyotsana Rawat recalls, “The entire expedition happened in a blink. It still hasn’t sunk in.” She adds, “not only were the peaks a technical challenge, uncharted route, inclement weather and a fixed time span made mine and Anamika’s maiden expedition a great experience.”

Post the expedition, Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board member Avdesh Bhatt has set themselves another daunting task. Bhatt ji tells us, “we named this ‘Mission Atal’ and when we returned on 19th of October post summiting the peaks, we under took an initiative to name these, ‘Atal Ridge’ in the memory of former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpaee. We procured a no-objection certificate from local authorities in the region and are working on a report to be presented to IMF, Uttarakhand Government as well as Survey of India after which we will appeal to the PMO to name the four peaks Atal 1, Atal 2, Atal 3, and Atal 4.”

A task that this determined team assures us will be accomplished soon.

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